Birthday To Remember
by Things in Ink
Summary: Friday came quickly and full of anticipation for the party. After a rather uneventful day, half the precinct was gtting ready. It was going to be a birthday to remember.


Request from maltararox21! I suggest you read my other story April Fool's (don't worry, it's short) before you read this one. You don't have to, but it will make the story easie to understand. Enjoy and review!

Kai Kalaba and a new detective, Matt Palow, walked down the hall to the crime lab. Ever since Kai's April Fool's day prank on Matt, the two had hit it off. You could even call them friends. A paticular bit of information shocked Matt, though...

"You don't throw parties on your birthday?" Matt's face beared an exprossion of shock and disbelief.

"Well, no, not really... My birthday is on a leap year so I never really do much. Also, I've found that everyone teases me on my birthday. You know, the standard 'Oh, Kai, you're only seven, no wonder you're so immature!', that sort of thing."

"Wasn't this year a leap year? C'mon, Kai, it's basically a ritual to thow parties on your birthday! You know what? I'm going to throw you a late birthday party!" Matt mock-punched the air a few times.

"But... It's April." Kai opened the door to the crime lab where Amy sat, typing on a computer. Mal and Natara stood over her, but other then the three, it was empty.

"Guys, you seriously won't believe this, but Kai doesn't throw parties on his birthday!" Matt exclaimed as he bounded into the room with Kai. Everyone looked up.

Mal was the first to speak. "What? Don't you sometimes throw parties for no apparant reason?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't like to throw parties on my birthday, and-" he was cut off by Matt.

"I'm going to throw him a late birthday party because his birthday was apparantly two months ago and he didn't do _anything_. Would you guys come?"

Natara nodded. "Sure, I'll come. It'll be fun."

"Me too," said Amy. "And I'm sure Mal will, too, right Mal?" She nudged him.

"Sure, what the heck." Mal grinned. "It better be freaking epic."

"Awesome! It will be, I assure you. We'll even have a clown!" Everyone looked at Matt with an expression of horror. "Seriously? You'd really believe that there would be a clown? Heh. Anyway, I better go before captain rips my head off for not working. It'll be at Ocean Blue, you know that club? Friday night! See ya all there." Matt saluted to everyone and left.

"Well," Mal said, "You're certainly rubbing off on him, Kai. He's almost as random and spontaneous as you."

"Um, thanks, I think..." Kai mumbled and looked down.

Natara looked up from Amy's computer. "Kai, are you okay? You seen kind of off... Do you even want this party?"

"Well," Kai sighed. "Everything started on my eighth birthday. I was born on a leap year, so I was technically only two, but I went by eight. Very literally, everyone made fun of me. My parents even brought a cake with a number two candle! I hated it. And really, there aren't a lot of things I hate. So, from then on, I never wanted to do anything big for my birthday."

The room was silent until Amy piped up. "That's really sad, Kai. But, honestly, I don't think anyone will care anymore. I promise."

"Yeah. I don't know. I think it'll be fun, Matt will probably be super over-the-top."

"That's the spirit!" Natara smiled.

"And anyway, its probably just going to be people from the precinct. No biggie."

Natara stared at Mal. "Mal... Did you just say 'no biggie'?"

"Uh... Yes?" Mal looked down at his shoes. Natara laughed and everyone went back to their everyday work.

CoD~CoD~CoD

Friday came quickly and full of anticipation for the party. Kai had grown more excited about the party and was even helping Matt plan it. After a rather uneventful day, half the precinct was getting ready.

It was going to be a birthday to remember.

The club was trasformed to look even nicer than usual. There was a huge dance floor, a professional DJ, and plenty of refreshments. In one corner, there was a fully stocked bar.

There were plenty of people, all from the SFPD. Everyone knew Kai and no one made fun of his official age.

Everyone was laughing and having a great time. Suddenly, "I'm Sexy and I Know It" came on. Kai shoved Matt onto the dance floor where everyone watched him pull some awesome dance moves. His charismatic nature made it really easy for him to impress everyone.

Mal eventually got a bit tired of the party and could tell Natara was feeling the same. He nudged her arm. "Hey, Natara, let's get out of here." She nodded and he leaded her outside to the empty deck.

"The sky looks pretty," she mumbled as she stared up at the stars.

"Yeah. My mom and I used to come outside at night and look for constellations."

"Do you miss your mom, Mal?" Natara turned and looked into his eyes.

"I..." He saw no reason in protesting. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. It was hard, losing her. My dad was arrested before she was even diagnosed with cancer. When she died, I was only 21. She was 45. It seems like everything still reminds me of her." Mal looked out over the water.

She nodded. "I understand the feeling." They were both silent for a moment.

"Nat?" She turned to face him. He drew in a breath. "I love you. I always have. Ever since the day I met you. You really did change me for the better."

"Oh, Mal... I love you, too. It took me too long to realize." He stepped closer and kissed her. She was surprised for a moment but didn't object.

Meanwhile, inside the club, someone else was building up courage. Kai went up to Amy. "Hey, Amy, wanna dance?" She looked up from her drink and smiled.

"Of course." They made their way onto the dance floor. "So, how are you liking the party so far?"

"Its great! I can't believe I used to hate this!" Amy laughed.

"See, it's not so bad. At least you're having fun."

"Yeah, I am. So, Amy. I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you know the muffin man? Just kidding. My actual question was, do you want to go on a date sometime?"

Amy giggled. "Sure, Kai. That sounds great."

Because of this late birthday party, new love was formed, memories were made, and Kai realized that birthdays may not be so bad.

The end:)!

Here's a link to a pic of the nightclub where the party was held. Just remove the spaces:)!

http : / / instructional1 . calstatela . edu / lkamhis / tesl565 _ sp11 / gimbrone _ zabayle / nightclubinterior . jpg

Hope you enjoyed it! My actual birthday is on Tuesday! Can I have a whole bunch of birthday reviews from you all? Pretty please?


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